Memories of a Marriage

Book excerpt: By the author of the beloved Schmidt series, Memories of a Marriage is a penetrating look at class and privilege, shifting from Paris to Manhattan, Long Island to Newport. Mourning his wife and daughter, and on the edge of old age, Philip reencounters an astonishing woman from his past: Lucy De Bourgh, an heiress who was once a passionate debutante and the intimate of many men, including Philip himself. As she reveals the startling details of her failed marriage to Thomas Snow—a townie turned powerful international banker, liked by many but to her a loathsome monster—Philip discovers a story that will challenge his assumptions about those he has known, admired, and desired. A triumph by an author expert in revealing the good breeding and bad behavior of the moneyed elite, Memories of a Marriage is an eloquent and irresistible book that explores all the varieties of love and the very concept of truth. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for Memories of a Marriage “Among contemporary novelists, [Begley] may be the wryest, most devastating critic of class in American society.”—The Washington Post “Engrossing . . . Louis Begley gives us a chance to see into . . . the most private recesses of another couple’s marriage.”—The New York Times Book Review “This delicious, dazzling novel about the rise and fall of a great American debutante kept me up all night.”—Susan Cheever “A consummately constructed monument to human imperfection.”—San Francisco Chronicle “[Begley is] an elegant stylist with a dry wit and a merciless eye.”—The Wall Street Journal “A fiendishly clever, Fitzgeraldesque tale about marriage, friendship, gossip, and self-justification.”—Booklist